Many individuals have a need to support objects on their laps for a variety of reasons. For example, during long distance transportation an individual may have a need to support writing papers, electronic devices (e.g., personal computers, game devices, electronic tablets and the like), food and/or beverages while seated.
By way of another specific example, paraplegic individuals have a continual need to carry items while manipulating their wheelchair. There are numerous instances in daily life that a paraplegic individual will have a need to support items on their lap while moving their wheelchair. For example, when in a self-serve restaurant, it is necessary for the individual to support a tray laden with food and/or beverages on their lap so the individual can move their wheelchair to a dining table. The paraplegic individual of course is physically incapable of sensing the weight of the tray against their lap and/or any movement of the tray items, especially items that may not inherently be stable (e.g., cups filled with a liquid beverage). During manipulation of the individual's wheelchair, such an inability to physically sense the presence of the tray and/or movement of the items supported on the tray can result in tray slippage and/or spillage.
The art is replete with proposals to address the needs of paraplegic individuals as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,915,102, 4,779,884, 4,566,732 and 7,216,929, the entire contents of each being expressly incorporated hereinto be reference. Such prior proposals, however, necessarily require the table to be physically attached to a structural component of the individual's wheelchair or supported directly by the ground.
What has been needed in this art, therefore, are lap-supported devices, such as lap-supported tables, trays, baskets, cases and the like, that may positionally be restrained relative to an individual's lap to thereby ensure hands-free support of items. It is towards providing such a need that the embodiments of the present invention are directed.